Rose Petals Scattering in the Wind
by Italian Torchwick
Summary: Cinder is dead and Beacon is saved. That was several years ago before Team RWBY graduated and went their separate ways. Now Ruby lives alone in a cottage on Patch when not on missions. It was rather lonely until one day a strange man appears. With no place to go she opens her home to him. When asked what his name was he told her to call him "Orange". Rosewick. One shot.
Ruby did not remember when he first arrived. He just showed up one day and start tagging along. She was unnerved at first by his strange qualities but eventually became friends with him. Whenever she felt lonely he would always be there to bring a smile to her face. Unfortunately being lonely was something Ruby knew all too well. Her team disbanded after graduation from Beacon. Weiss went on to take control of her father's company. Blake overthrew Adam and took charge of the White Fang and lead it back to the greatness it once held. Her sister Yang was a roaming adventurer who would keep moving from one place to the next. On rare occasions they would all meet at Ruby's little cottage on Patch and today was one of those days.

Ruby was bustling with excitement to see her team again and introduce her new friend to them. Ruby was in the kitchen preparing sandwiches for her friends when she heard the doorbell ring. She ran to the door and opened it only to be immediately brought into a bear hug.

"Ruby! It's so good to see you again!" Yang exclaimed.

"I missed you so much! Come in, come in. I've got sandwiches." Said Ruby gesturing towards the kitchen after hugging each of her teammates. They all sat around the dining table to catch up with one another. Yang told her stories of mythical Grimm she had slain and adventures of glory she had completed. Blake had talked about how the efforts of the White Fang finally were able to outlaw discrimination of all forms against faunus. Weiss told her procedures that she followed to eliminate all corruption in the company and brought it back to an honest path.

When each of them had finished they all turned their eyes towards Ruby. "So sis what have you done since last time we've met?" Her sister asked.

Ruby felt down after all of them told their stories. Compared to their feats she had not done much. All she ever did or wanted to do was help people. She was still helping people now as she was before. The only thing that was different was him. That's when she remembered her new friend and roommate. "I've met a friend and we're going on missions together!"

"Really? Well this is new. Who is it?" Asked Blake with her cat ears wobbling in curiosity.

"Hold on he's upstairs. I'll be right back." Ruby said as she sprinted up the steps to pull him out of the guest bedroom. Opening the door she saw him sleeping in a chair which she shook to wake him up. "Come on Orange. It's time to wake up. My friends are here and I want you to meet them."

"Just a few more minutes." He grumbled.

"No 'just a few more minutes' me. You're coming down to meet my friends."

"You know how I don't like meeting new people."

"Yes but these are my friends. I only see them every once in a while now and I want you to meet them."

"Fine. Let's go." He said with reluctance.

With that Ruby grabbed his arm and led him down the steps and brought him into the dining room. Stopping right in front of them she pushed Orange forward and said "This is Orange! He's kind of shy so don't be upset if he doesn't say much."

Ruby looked at her team to see confused glares and contorted facial expressions. Weiss was the first one to speak up. "Ruby are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah I feel fine. What's the matter?"

To Ruby's surprise her sister got up from her seat and pressed her hand against Ruby's forehead. "You aren't feeling hot. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes Yang I feel fine. Now why are you all obsessed with my health all of a sudden? I'm just trying to introduce a friend. Go ahead Orange introduce yourself."

He cleared his throat and said "Alright then. Hello everyone. I prefer to go by Orange if you don't mind. It is a pleasure to meet you all. Ruby has told me so much about all of you."

Ruby was growing more confused by the minute. Her entire team was ignoring him as if he had said nothing at all. Instead they were checking out Ruby's body as if they did not trust her to take care of herself. Ruby became fed up with their rudeness and ripped herself away from her team's grasp. "Why can't you believe me when I say I'm fine? I know how to take care of myself. Also you all are being really rude to Orange for ignoring him like that."

Weiss, Blake and Yang all looked at each other having one of their silent arguments they were known for. Ruby finally not able to take anymore yelled "What is going on?! You all look like you want to tell me something but don't want to be the one to do it! Just tell me already!"

Yang breathed a deep sigh and said "Ruby I know this might seem hard but Orange isn't real. I think that you've just made an imaginary friend and with nobody else to tell you otherwise you assumed he was real."

"How can you say that? He's real and he's standing right behind you. He's six foot tall so he's not really hard to miss. This joke is getting old and if you could stop I'd like that."

"This isn't a joke. There's nobody behind us." Weiss said after checking behind her. She then turned to Yang and said "Blake and I unfortunately have work we have to get back to after this but do you think that you could stay here and make sure Ruby's alright?"

"Of course I can. Ruby's health comes before anything."

"Don't I get a say in this?!" Ruby yelled.

"No." They all said simultaneously.

And that was that. Their time together eventually passed and Weiss and Blake had to leave. Yang was staying with Ruby whether she wanted to or not. Much to Ruby's dismay Yang decided near the end of the day to take up residence in the guest bedroom which was Orange's room.

Hours later Ruby stood in the doorway with Orange by her side staring at the sleeping Yang in the darkness. Ruby whispered to Orange "This is a really mean joke that they're doing. I know you're real. I can touch you and see you and hear you. Why can't they?"

He breathed a sigh and put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry too much about it. I'm used to it by now."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I grew up in the poverty district of Vale. I'm used to people not giving me a sideways glance. Most people can't see, hear or touch me even if I'm right in front of them."

"That's horrible."

"That's life."

"That still isn't right."

"I know. I'm thankful that at least you can see that it's wrong."

"Yeah but why are they doing this? It doesn't make any sense."

"I don't know. Either way I'm fine sleeping on the couch." He said as he turned and walked towards the stairs. Just before he turned around the corner he said "Red if I haven't done it yet I want to thank you. You took me in when I had nowhere else to go. Thank you."

Ruby was somewhat taken aback by that and said "Oh… um… you're welcome. I'm always here to help others."

He had a small chuckle and said "Right you are Red. Right you are."

The following morning Yang took Ruby outside so they could sit down and have a chat with some fresh air. The two of them were sitting on tree stumps behind the cottage and were looking at the beautiful, luscious forest. Of course Orange joined them by sitting in between the two but Yang did not notice.

"So Ruby… What does this Orange look like?"

"Why do you care? I thought you said he wasn't real."

"I think that there could be some useful information in his appearance. So what does he look like?"

Before Ruby could answer Orange spoke up and said "Well I'm devilishly handsome for one thing." earning a laugh out of Ruby.

"Orange stop it. Alright well-"

"Wait a minute." Interrupted Yang. "So Orange is out here?"

"Yeah he's sitting on the ground right between us."

"Alright. Do you mind that?"

"No. He's really funny."

"Okay. So what does he look like?"

Ruby looked at Orange in between them for reference. "Well he's around six feet tall and he always wears this white coat with other formal attire. He's got a bowler hat on whenever he can and he has red hair with bangs covering his right eye. Depending on his mood his green eyes can be calming or scary."

Once she was done she looked up to see her sister's face gone pale. Ruby said "Yang you look kind of sick. Are you alright?"

"Yes I'm perfectly fine." She said breathing heavily. "About what time did he show up?"

"It's been a few months now. Not too long but enough that we know almost everything about each other."

Yang at this point looked like she was going to throw up. Just as Ruby was going to ask what was wrong Yang jolted up and said that she needed to use the restroom before taking off to the cottage.

Both Orange and Ruby looked at the running Yang with confused expressions. Orange broke the sudden silence and said "Well that's one hell of an exit. It's a shame. I never got to hear you say how handsome I am."

"Like you were to start with."

"You wound me. Actually you might have wounded her too. Do you need to check on her?"

"I probably should but with how things are right now it might be best not to. She doesn't think I'm sane after all."

"Red I want you to know that you are sane. I'm real. So what if others can't see me? As long as you can that's what matters."

"I know but this is getting frustrating." She said ripping grass out of the ground.

"You're not the one being treated like they're invisible."

"True. Even if they can't see you it's really nice to have you here. It can get a little lonely sometimes."

To her surprise she felt his arms wrap around her. The warmth of his body only helped confirm his existence and calmed her. She felt herself relax as if all the tension in her left right then and there. "I know but you don't have to worry about that anymore. I'll stay for as long as you want me to."

"I like the thought of that."

Days turned into weeks as Yang's stay continued. Ruby could not get too angry at her sister. Yang was just doing what she thought was best for Ruby. Yang was not being a slacker either. They would split the chores in two. Even though Ruby insisted that Orange could work too and then the work would be split in three Yang said no. Whenever Ruby brought him up Yang would always talk about how he is not real. Ruby could never prove his existence to Yang but she was able to prove his existence to herself. Not only could she see, hear and touch him but she could see him move objects. If she told him to clean a room then the room would be cleaned the next time Ruby or Yang entered.

Much to Yang's dismay, Ruby felt herself getting closer to Orange. He just seemed so homely and calming. After a good amount of time had passed with Ruby only being more certain of his existence, they received some company.

Ruby was washing dishes with Orange when she heard the doorbell ring. "Orange do you think that you could get that?" She asked.

"You know I don't feel comfortable opening the door. Besides it's probably nothing but a salesman who wants to sell us overpriced gadgets we would never use."

The doorbell rang again and Ruby said "Out here on Patch? I doubt any salesman wander around here. Well I'm in no state of dress to open the door and I forgot about your aversion to them." She turned around to yell at her sister. "Hey Yang could you get that?"

"Sure thing." She heard come from upstairs. After the pitter patter of feet racing down the steps and the squeak of the door she heard her sister greet whoever was there. Strangely enough her sister invited them in. Ruby finished up what she was doing and headed to the door with Orange close behind. Ruby gasped when she saw who it was. Ruby ran forward and almost tackled him in a hug.

"Jaune! I haven't seen you in forever!"

"Hey Ruby. Long time no see huh?"

"What are you doing here? I thought that you were off hunting Grimm in the mountains with Ren and Nora."

"Well we just finished with that. Ren and Nora got dispatched to another village and they both told me I needed some time off. So when Yang called and told me to come over I rushed over as fast as I could."

Ruby turned and looked at Yang who had a smile on her face and "I just thought that it would be nice to catch up with some old friends."

"Is this Vomit Boy you've told me about?" Ruby heard behind her. Turning around she saw Orange leaning on a wall watching.

"Orange don't call him that. That's mean."

"So I'm right aren't I? This should be entertaining."

Ruby turned back towards Jaune and said "Don't mind him. I would say that he's just cranky but to be honest he's like that all the time. You'll get used to it."

Jaune tilted his head slightly and asked "Who are you talking about again?"

"Orange. He's my friend and he's leaning on the wall right over there."

Jaune squinted a bit while looking at where Ruby was pointing. He broke up the hug and walked over to shake Orange's hand. Ruby watched as Orange walked towards Jaune to shake hands but stopped shortly after he started. Jaune had walked right past Orange leaving him to double take. Jaune walked right up to an empty space a few feet away from Orange and stated shaking hands and greeting the air.

A furious Ruby turned towards her sister and yelled "I knew you only asked him to come here because you want to prove that Orange isn't real but he is! He is! He is! He is! How would you feel if the world treated you like you were invisible?! I'm the only one who can see him but if I don't then I would be abandoning him to a fate worse than death!"

Ruby ran upstairs into her room and slammed the door behind her. She proceeded to plop onto her bed and use her pillow to muffle her cries. She could faintly hear Orange cursing the two other residents out with exquisite profanity. It made her laugh softly until she heard a knock on the door.

"May I come in?" She heard Jaune ask.

"The door is unlocked. Go ahead and do whatever you want."

She heard the door open and close behind her. A few footsteps later she could hear the creak of her rocking chair in the corner swaying back and forth. "I came up to apologize." He said.

"That was mean. I got my hopes up that someone else could actually see him but it was nothing but a joke."

She heard him breathe a deep sigh and said "I'm sorry. Yang had called me over because she thought that I might be able to do some good. She told me about your situation with Orange and I thought that perhaps I could help things best by starting with that. All it did was blow up in my face. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Just don't pretend like you can see him unless you actually can."

"Done. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What is it that proves to you that he's real? I'm not saying this trying to discourage you. I just find it remarkable that you are so devoted to the idea even after spending months with your sister telling you no."

"It's because I know he's real. Not only can I see him and hear him but I can touch him too. When we hug I can feel his body heat. He also helps me with chores around the house. He can pick up things and move things without me being there. When I tell Yang this she tells me that if he was real then he should open a door for her. But that's the problem. Opening doors is the one thing he can't do."

"Why can't he open doors?"

"He's afraid."

"Of?"

"What's on the other side."

"Well that was pretty self explanatory. Talk about a dumb question to ask huh?"

Ruby looked over at where he was sitting and rubbing the back of his head. "Can I ask you a question now?"

"Sure. Ask me anything." He said with that kindly disposition of his.

"What exactly did Yang ask you to come here for? Not what you had planned to do, not what might have been best, but what did she specifically ask you to do?"

He sat there tapping his fingers for a minute before he responded. "She wanted me to help because I've been through something similar to what you are. When Pyrrha died fighting Cinder I felt like I had died. Yes her sacrifice allowed Ozpin to gather enough time to team up with Goodwitch, Ironwood and Qrow. Only together they were able to defeat her but it didn't lighten the pain at all. Even after knowing that she saved thousands of lives, even the entire kingdom that night, I was still haunted. I remember seeing her everywhere. It slowly drove me mad but after getting some help I'm alright now. I personally think that the same thing is happening to you."

"But that's where you're wrong. I've never met Orange before and he isn't some phantom haunting me. I didn't lose anyone to cause this."

"But what about Torchwick?"

"Who?" Ruby questioned as she saw the blood drain out of his face. He looked like he had seen a ghost and if she did not know any better then she would say that he was about to faint.

He slowly got up and used the wall as support. "I've said too much. I need some fresh air."

"You didn't answer me. Who's Torchwick?" He looked like a dagger was thrust through his stomach when she asked that question. She got up to go over to him. "Are you going to be alright?" She asked.

She helped him sit down on the floor and rushed to get him a glass of water. Returning shortly later she saw him drink half of it and throw the rest on his face. "What was that for?" Ruby exclaimed.

"For me being stupid. I was so stupid. The one moment I needed to remember it I forgot it."

"Can you please explain this to me? I don't get what's going on. Who's Torchwick and what does he have to do with Orange?"

"I've said too much already. Just leave me here. I'll be fine in a few minutes. If you want answers then ask your sister. She can tell you more."

Ruby did what he asked and left him there to calm himself down. She went downstairs to find her sister starting to work on dinner. "Hey Yang I have a question."

"Ask away sis." Yang responded while cutting up an onion.

"Well I kind of… I was just curious… I didn't know if you…"

"Spit it out already. Whatever you have to ask I'm sure I can take it."

"Well… I wanted to know who's Torchwick?"

Yang dropped her knife and it bounced off of the cutting board. Yang only moved when it landed on her foot and cut her. "Goddamn it!" She yelled as she fell and grasped her now severely bleeding foot.

Ruby rushed to get the bandages and disinfectant underneath the sink. Pulling them out she asked "So who was he?"

"Really Ruby? At a time like this you're going to keep asking that?"

Opening the box Ruby said "It made you drop your knife so I know that it's important. Please tell me?"

"I didn't drop it because you asked that. I dropped it because I was being clumsy and careless. I've never heard of the guy myself."

Ruby sprayed disinfectant across her sister's foot making her cry out in pain. Ruby said "Answer me."

Through gritted teeth Yang said "There's nothing to answer."

Another spray of disinfectant later Ruby asked again "Who is he?"

"I don't know who you're talking about."

"This is a brand new bottle Yang."

"Fine. I'll bandage this myself. If you need me I'll be at the hospital with Jaune."

"Why Jaune?"

"Because he won't keep asking questions unlike you."

A lot of yelling later, Jaune was acting as Yang's support as they walked to the nearest hospital. Ruby was left at home after her conversation with Yang turned bitter. Ruby feeling down decided to plop down on the couch and mope.

She was thankful when she saw Orange sit right next her. "What's got you down today? You look like a wilting rose and I'm not going to stand for that. One way or another I'm going to get a smile on your face."

"You can try. I just got Yang and Jaune really angry at me for asking a dumb question."

"Why don't you ask me? I promise you I won't act like how Vomit Boy and Blondie did."

"Alright I guess. Jaune mentioned the name Torchwick. The way he described it made it sound like I was close to whoever that is but I can't remember. Hey Orange are you alright?"

She looked up at his face to see him frozen. It was as if he was completely frozen in time. He did not blink. He did not breathe. He remained perfectly motionless until she poked him to see if he was alright. He then breathed a deep sigh and stood up.

"Orange where are you going?"

"I can't tell you the answer but I can show you. If you would follow me please."

With that she stood up and walked over to where he stood by the door. "I still can't open doors." He said.

"Sorry. There you go. Lead the way."

The two of them walked out into the forest while dusk covered the land with countless shadows. They walked along a thin path that had not been taken care of in a while but seemed familiar nonetheless. Just when Ruby was going to complain about the long walk they reached a clearing. In front of them stood a cliff that dropped off to the sea. Ruby could smell the salty air and hear the sound of waves crashing up against the rocks. The view of the sunset was incredible and the way it stretched its light upon the waves was nothing less than breathtaking. Walking forward a little more she recognized the sight in front of her. There engraved in a stone slab was a rose with "Here lies Summer Rose... Thus Kindly I Scatter." underneath. It was her mother's grave.

"Why have you brought me here?" Ruby asked unable to move her eyes from the grave.

"That is why." He said pointing a little ways away. She followed the direction of his hand and saw another stone slab. Slowly walking towards it the text came into view. Standing over it she saw a jack o'lantern. The text underneath said "Here lies Roman Torchwick… A loving husband and father… Oh Cruel Fate."

"So he's dead?" She asked.

"Yes."

"I wish I knew him. He must've been a good man."

"He was."

"So how does this relate to me?"

"You still don't remember do you?" He said with his voice turning shaky.

Ruby turned around and saw a tear stream down his cheek. "Orange what's wrong? You don't need to cry. I'm right here." She said as she hugged him.

He began crying softly on her shoulder. "You don't understand any of this do you?" He asked.

"No. I don't."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

He cupped her face to meet his. Looking into his eyes she saw nothing but love as tears streamed from them. "Well I've tried everything else. Let's see if this works." He leaned down and kissed her.

She felt as if fireworks were going off. Images flashed before her eyes faster than she could understand them. When they began to slow down and she could start to decipher them. They were memories. Old memories, new memories, good and bad. She remembered fighting a criminal named Roman Torchwick at a dust shop that earned her a position at Beacon. There was all the times that her team fought to bring him and his joint operation with the White Fang down. She remembered fighting him on top of a battleship with him being swallowed by a griffin.

Then years later after the death of Cinder and their graduation he shows up out of nowhere. He just walked up to her door one day holding a gravely wounded Neo and asked for help for no hospital would take them. They brought her inside and made her feel comfortable. They both did the best they could but she died that night. She remembered seeing Roman break as he sat next to his best friend and watched her die. Roman buried her the next morning and planted a tree as a grave marker a little ways away from the forest. She remembered taking pity on him for his loss and offered him her home until he could get back on his feet. Time passed and while her team disliked the idea when they saw the hollow shell he was they too took pity on him. Days turned to weeks as she tried to get him back. It was exactly three weeks from Neo's death that he laughed his first laugh. She had fallen down the steps but she still had gotten some emotion out of him. As time passed on she eventually learned his back-story about how he never wanted to be a criminal or work for Cinder but had to in order to survive.

As the weeks turned to months he started opening up even more to her. He would join her on missions and would help around the house in any way he could. He was still as sassy and sarcastic as ever but then he displayed some parts of him she never knew about. When he chose to be he was kind, sweet and funny. Then one morning something changed. It was like a switch was flipped inside her head. Suddenly what used to be just a friend became the only person she could see herself with. She was the one who kissed first and they started dating soon after. Eventually a full year passed and Ruby remembered it being one of the happiest of her life. It was not too much longer before he proposed and she said yes.

She remembered her wedding day with her team as her bridesmaids and Junior, Perry and Adam as groomsmen. She never fully stopped crying that day. They had already moved in but now it was official. Two years later they decided to start a family. Being pregnant was one of the most uncomfortable experiences that she had ever had but she knew that it would be worth it.

Another memory flashed before her eyes. She was in the back gardening and Roman was in the kitchen cooking when the doorbell rang. Both of them left to go see but Roman made it there first. He opened the door a crack and then immediately closed it. She remembered seeing the face of pure horror that he had as he turned around and sprinted towards her. He had just enough time to yell "RUBY RUN!" before the first gunshot rang out. He did not have enough time to push her down but enough that he could use his body to shield her. Many more bullets followed afterwards bursting through the door. Hundreds of bullets fired in just a few seconds leaving what once was her husband into nothing more than a bullet sponge. He was dead before he hit the floor.

She had immediately blacked out. When she woke up she saw all of her team, team JNPR, Uncle Qrow and her father by her bedside. When she had asked what happened it was Qrow who told the story. Torchwick even though he had retired from being head of his mafia was still looked to as the leader. A fellow mobster wanted Torchwick out of the picture to inherit the title of mob boss. It was due to Torchwick's sacrifice that she lived. She had suffered a few bullet wounds but nothing life threatening. Unfortunately one stray bullet made it past his shield and struck the baby. There was nothing they could do to save her unborn child.

The memory of when her team would come and visit every day played. Even with all they did to cheer her up nothing worked. It was like she was falling into a bottomless pit where the light was slowly growing weaker and weaker. She had finally spiraled so far down that the very first thing she did after being released from the hospital was track down those who ordered her husband's death. In under one month's time every single person involved was tortured to death by her hands. This effectively earned her the name "The Grim Reaper" in the underworld. She had hidden all of these operations from her friends but they caught her covered in blood after sating her revenge on the last assassin involved.

After that her team never left her alone for six months. They moved in with her and Ruby did have to admit that she was feeling better. Eventually a time came when Ruby felt normal again and told her friends that they could leave. As soon as they left the emptiness returned though. Everything in her cottage reminded her of one time or another that she spent with Roman. Everything seemed like it was missing something. A point came where Ruby was so desperate to be relieved from all the pain that she put everything of his in a bunker and buried it in the backyard.

Things somewhat returned to normal. With all evidence of Roman's existence hidden it was as if he was never there to begin with. That idea that he never existed slowly crept into her mind more and more often until it was the only thing she thought about. Piece by piece and memory by memory she forgot in order to make it true, that he never existed. This continued until there were no memories left and she no longer even recognized his name. Soon afterwards she remembered the first time she had seen Orange.

As the last of the memories finished playing before her she returned to the present to see Orange breaking the kiss. She looked up into his eyes and saw him. It was really him. "Roman?" She croaked.

"Hello Ruby. It's nice to have you back."

"B-B-But you're gone. You're supposed to be dead." She said unable to hold back her tears any longer.

He grabbed her and hugged her as tight as he could. "Ruby I was never gone. I've always been with you. It was you who had left. I was so afraid. I was afraid that I had lost you. I was afraid that I would never see your smile or hear your laugh again."

"But I had to avenge you."

"I never cared about revenge. I care about you. I was watching the woman I fell in love with waste away. That was more painful than any number of bullets I could have ever received."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I put you through that. I'm sorry I let myself go down that path. I'm sorry that I made myself forget you."

"Ruby I forgive you. I've been waiting so long to have you back. But please promise me that you won't do this to yourself again. You have so much to live for, so much left to do with your life. Don't waste time mourning over me."

"Why? Why did this have to happen? I lost everything."

"You didn't lose everything. You still have so many friends who love you and care for you. And I never wanted this to happen. I wanted to leave my past behind and start a new life with you. But when I saw who had come that day I knew that I wouldn't make it. They wouldn't stop until they killed me. I remember seeing my life flash before my eyes when the first bullet fired. I saw everything that led me to you. If given the chance I wouldn't change anything. There was so much more I wanted to do with you, so many adventures left to go on. But I was able to make peace with the decades being stolen because I knew that at least I was able to save you."

"But at what cost?! We weren't even able to save the baby!"

"I know. That is my only regret. But know that I was willing to pay that price. I would do it over and over again if I had to. A world without you in it is one I don't want to live in."

"But you're not in it anymore. You're gone. Things will never be the same without you." She said drowning herself in his chest.

"Ruby I love you more than anything else in the world. You have my heart and soul and because of this I will never be gone. I promise you that I will never leave. I will always be here to walk you through things. I've been calling to you ever since that day but you drowned me out. What I never got to tell you was that my greatest wish is for you to be happy. Even if that means you grow to love someone else. Even if you marry another I'll be fine because I know that you're happy and that's all I ever wanted."

Ruby held him for dear life not wanting the moment to pass. She could start to feel his body heat begin to fade as the embrace continued. She looked up at his face to see tears still streaming down. To her surprise she was seeing rose petals flowing in the wind. Then she saw that they were coming from him. His feet were starting to dissolve into rose petals and were being taken away by the light breeze. "Roman what's going on?" She said hearing her voice shake.

"I've done what I've come here for. I have to go."

Ruby felt herself getting hysterical clutching his disappearing frame to the point that it hurt but she did not care. "But you just said that you would never leave! YOU PROMISED ME!"

"And that is a promise I plan to keep. If I could have my way then I would stay right in this spot for all of eternity. But you still have a life to live, dreams to accomplish. I have to go but that doesn't mean I'm gone. I'm always watching over you. I always have been and I always will be. I love you Ruby."

"I-I-I love you too." Ruby cried as she kissed him again. She never let go until she felt the warmth of his lips fade. She opened her eyes and saw nothing but floating rose petals scattering in the breeze. They completely surrounded her making it seem like they were everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Then all at once the wind stopped and the petals disappeared. She fell to her knees and gave herself a minute to cry herself out. Icy tears ran down her face for the first time in almost a year. While she sat in front of his grave the sun set below the horizon and ushered the land into shadow. She did not want to leave but she got up anyways and started following the trail back to her cottage. It would be hard but she would learn to move on. She had to keep on living. She knew that she would dig up the bunker tomorrow but she had to make it home first. She would return everything of his to their rightful spots. She needed them to preserve his memory and legacy. His memory was no longer a curse but motivation. She would live life to the fullest. She would right her wrongs and while things may never be the same she preferred it that way. She knew that even though he may not be walking beside her, he was at least helping her push forward. He would forever be watching over her and just that fact alone, that he was not truly gone, was enough to give her a reason to live.

At a certain point in the trail she lost her way and with the darkness surrounding her she no longer knew where to go. She closed her eyes and decided to follow wherever the wind would guide her. The wind was not howling like it normally was in these woods. It was calm and it smelled like the sea with a faint scent of roses. It was warm and soothing like a pair of arms holding her close. A short walk later she opened her eyes to see her cottage. The lights inside were on and she saw Yang and Jaune limp and run out to greet her and say how much she worried them. They joined in a giant hug and while Ruby's head was resting between the two of theirs she whispered to the night "Thank you."

Her only response was a small breeze that carried with it a single rose petal. She stared at it while it gently floated down and landed next to the roots of a young tree planted a little ways away from the edge of the forest.


End file.
